Things to see and do

Unique in the Catalan Pyrenees, near the Mediterranean, the Valley of the Turtles is a breeding center, protection, breeding, conservation of species and offers the public the turtles in the world.

From the Seychelles giant tortoise to the only French and baby nursery, the monstrous alligator turtle in the most beautiful in the world (Radiata of Madagascar), the box turtle is also, crepe coal, funeral, leper or leopard .

The Department of the Catalan Pyrenees Nord has a shared history with the turtles. A late Tertiary lived here with large groups of giant tortoises and other various sizes (paleontological site of Serrat to Vaquer, global scientific value).

A box bone was collected in the silt of the brick Faget, on the road from Perpignan to Canet and fragments of a huge shell in the silt of Mas Belrich near Villeneuve de la Raho.

Over the centuries, sculptors immortalized turtles (Cloister of Saint-Genis, font of Arles sur Tech, obelisk of Port-Vendres) and we can follow the route of the turtles in northern Catalonia and south through Barcelona or Figueres. Here is the turtle fossil, sculpture, symbol and reality.

Tel. : +33 4 68 95 50 50.

Opening hours: From March 1 to 31: from 12h to 17h. From April to May: 10 to 18. From June to August: 9 am to 19:30. In September: from 10 to 19. In October: from 11h to 18h. Open 7/7.

Visit time: 1:30.

"The Micocouliers" factory whips:

A must visit! This heritage activity since the 18th century offers handcrafted unique, sporting goods hunting and riding with the famous "Whip of Perpignan" wooden Micocouliers, family tree of the elm grown from 13th century.

In the shop, all items that are on offer, are handcrafted by workers with disabilities.

Address: Street Stage - 66690 Sorède.

Tel. : +33 4 68 89 04 50 - Email: esat.micocouliers @ orange.fr

Opening hours: Monday to Thursday: 8.30am to 12am and 13.30 to 17. Friday: from 8.30am to 12am and 13h30 to 15h.

The Chapel of Our Lady of the Castle - The Soul and heart Sorède:

A visit to this place, serene and full of history is inescapable. To access it you must take the path that for centuries so many feet have trodden to go implore the blessings of the Virgin Mary, the "Madonna of Ultréra".

Nestled in the mountains, in the shade of chestnut trees, the chapel you will then reward his panorama. In this haven of peace you can sit for a picnic or meditate on the beauty of the world, the bravest can afford a little trip to the ruins of the castle Ultréra. Or linger on the remains of the first French solar furnace installed in 1900 by a Portuguese scientific Padre Himalaya.

Running time approximately 1:30.

Accessible by car.

The solar furnace and its vestiges in the footsteps of "Padre Himalaya":

When the past meets the present or the story of a sorcerer? From a spy? Or a precursor?

This is a "strange story" that takes place in the spring of 1900 just minutes from the Hermitage of Our Lady of the Castle, at a place called "El Coll del Buc".

A Portuguese scientist decided to install equipment and to practice strange "enigmatic" experiences condensations of sunlight. Witchcraft? Espionage? Just months after his arrival the mysterious stranger is eager to leave, taking his secret with him. Remains of the first solar furnace ever made worldwide, only the circular rail of concrete on which the machine rotated and the remains of the platform called "From the Spy" built in dry stone still visible today, will survive this "strange story" forgotten in the whirlwind of life.

The church of St. Assicle and Sainte-Victoire:

Former chapel of the castle lord Sorède is any possibility to Sureda 950 receives the relics of saints (two martyrs of Cordoba in Spain) and became a parish under the name "Santi Assiscle of Sureda".

The church appears in the literature in 1051. It was reconstructed several times, in 1400 and in 1733 "Populus me fecit 1733." The inscription over the entrance door to the outside including the date of its construction. Another, located on the roof of the choir is known as the architect and the date of its completion in 1737.

Open to the public on Wednesdays from 16h to 18h and Sundays from 9.30am to 11am.